Books
History Parade
We left the Scout hut shortly after dark, to ambush regulars acting as invaders. Later, there was to be a…
Title Stories: My Man Jeeves By P.G. Wodehouse
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If you want to admire Napoleon, it helps not to have met Gaddafi
Napoleon’s exploits may have captured the world’s imagination, but the great European drama, played out over 20 years, was ultimately tawdry and pointless, says David Crane
More derring dos and don’ts from Paddy Leigh Fermor
Recent years have seen the slim but splendid Patrick Leigh Fermor oeuvre swell considerably. In 2008 came In Tearing Haste,…
Title Stories: The Postman Always Rings Twice by James M Cain
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From Trot to Thatcher: the life of Kika Markham
In a varied career, the actress Kika Markham has regularly played real-life charcters, including, on television, Mrs Thatcher — piquant…
An unorthodox detective novel about Waitrose-country paedos
W.H. Auden was addicted to detective fiction. In his 1948 essay ‘The Guilty Vicarage’, he analysed the craving, which he…
Colm Toibin’s restraint – like his characters' – is quietly overwhelming
In Colm Tóibín’s much-loved 2009 novel Brooklyn, Eilis Lacy, somewhat to her own surprise, leaves 1950s Enniscorthy (Tóibín’s own home…
Geoffrey Boycott’s new book would be of more use to English cricketers than a regiment of shrinks
After 13 barren years Yorkshire is back at the top of county cricket, where Geoffrey Boycott believes it has a…
First ash dieback, then the world's scariest beetle
The ash tree may lack the solidity of oak, the magnificence of beech or the ancient mystique of yew. In…
The hell of being Michael Palin
In these diaries, which I found excellent in a very specific way, Michael Palin tells us about his life between…
If you don’t think this novel is practically perfect, I’ll send you a replacement
If there were a harvest festival to honour the bounty of the autumnal book crop, the choir would be in…
Why Jonathan Powell thinks we'll have to negotiate with al-Qa’eda
Jonathan Powell is best known as Tony Blair’s fixer. He was intimately involved with the Northern Ireland peace process, about…
The Afterlives of the Anarchists
Those staples in their foursquare silver strips Stacked upwards like some brutalist Manhattan office block Were teased apart by fingertips…
Jessica Mitford and Esmond Romilly – crusaders, chancers, spongers
Even ardent Mitfordians must quake at the sight of yet another biography of the sisterhood. There have been more forests…
Picasso’s dealer
When she was four, Anne Sinclair had her portrait painted by Marie Laurencin. It is a charming picture, a little…
David Nicholls’ Us: Alan Partridge’s Grand Tour
Us, David Nicholls’s first novel since the hugely successful One Day, is about a couple who have been married for…
Books and arts
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Racy reading
In a field which is often characterised by polemics and hand-wringing, Noel Pearson has emerged as both a considered thinker…
The Afterlives of the Anarchists
Those staples in their foursquare silver strips Stacked upwards like some brutalist Manhattan office block Were teased apart by fingertips…
Title Stories: The Postman Always Rings Twice by James M Cain
The post Title Stories: The Postman Always Rings Twice by James M Cain appeared first on The Spectator. Got something…
The Afterlives of the Anarchists
Those staples in their foursquare silver strips Stacked upwards like some brutalist Manhattan office block Were teased apart by fingertips…
Title Stories: The Postman Always Rings Twice by James M Cain
Got something to add? Join the discussion and comment below.
Nabokov’s love letters are some of the most rapturous ever written
Vladimir Nabokov was happily married for over 50 years and rarely apart from his wife. More’s the pity, discovers Philip Hensher
Head Beaters
Ah, democracy. The informed will of the majority. If only the practice was as simple as the theory. When it…
